Naruto's Close Encounter
by Erosdeath
Summary: This is a Halloween one-shot done for the upcoming WA Halloween Challenge if I got the name correctly. Centered around Naruto and Hinata who find themselves in a spooky forest, and to their dismay they have some close encounters.


Hello there readers. I'm doing this for the upcoming WA Halloween Challenge if I got the name correctly. For this story you will need to know a bit about the series or some parts will be confusing. And in this story Hinata is a little OoC. Anyways on with the one-shot.

 **xXx**

Naruto has been dreading today for the past month. It's October 31st and it's rumored around this time of the year just outside of the forest surrounding the Hidden Leaf village there's a sections where a dense spooky fog creeps in and engulfs anyone who dares enter the section of the forest. It's also said that anyone who enters that part of the forest this time of year never returns. Gone just like that, never to be seen again.

The main reason he's been dreading this day is because his best friend, and secret crush, Hinata Hyuga is a huge fan of the occult. Thus to Naruto's Knowledge she'll probably drag him along with her to check it out. Little did he know she felt the same way about him.

Naruto himself is no fan of the occult whatsoever. The thought of ghosts and ghouls give him the creeps and terrifies him.

He was sitting on his couch eating some ramen while watching T.V when he heard a knock on the door. He looked at the watch on his wrist and saw that it read 6:58pm.

Naruto walked over to his door and looked into the peep hole to see who it was and to his dismay it was the one person he didn't want to see tonight, Hinata. He opened the door and greeted her warmly.

"Hey Hinata what are you doing here? It's dinner time, shouldn't you be back at the Hyuga compound eating your dinner?" Naruto inquired hoping she'd say yes then decide to leave.

Luck was not on his side tonight as Hinata answered him, "Yes it may be dinner time, but I've already finished. I was in a hurry since it's nearing dusk and I want to go to the rumoured spooky forest. So I came here to pick you up Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled genuinely as she held out her hand to him.

As much as Naruto didn't want to go, he reluctantly took hold of her hand and let her lead the way since he didn't want to disappoint his best friend.

"Do I really have to go? I mean can't I just stay inside my nice cozy apartment for the night and we could I don't know have fun playing games or something?" Naruto complained as he tried changing her mind.

"Nope you're coming with me whether you like it or not. I can't wait to get there. Plus we can game out tomorrow if you'd like Naruto-kun." Hinata gave a resolute answer.

Naruto mentally sighed as he knew she wasn't going to change her mind. Sometimes he thought his rambunctious, overly enthusiastic, determined personality rubbed off on her too much. But in a way he liked that thought.

 _"This is going to be a disaster I can already see the end result."_ Naruto thought to himself as he let Hinata nearly drag him out of the Village.

Once the two Ninja were outside the village they started jumping from tree branch to tree branch towards the romored legend.

When they got there they immediately felt a difference in the air. It was spooky, and had a creepy feel to it. This feeling sent a chill down Naruto's spine, while Hinata openly enjoyed the feeling the forest gave off.

"Is it too late to ask to leave?" Naruto asked already knowing the answer.

"Yes it is. You know me, and I'm not letting you get off easily. You're coming with me." Hinata then grabbed Naruto by the collar and dragged him into the forest.

Naruto's face filled with fear as he watched the place he knew recede into the background as he was dragged away. "No please don't drag me into the forest! Haven't you heard that anyone who enters never returns!"

"I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs threatening to tear his larynx out while trying to get away from Hinata, but she kept a firm grip on his collar.

"Hinata please! It's not too late to turn back, we're still not fully in the forest! We can still save ourselves!" Naruto pleaded as his arms were outstretched trying to grab onto anything that could help stop Hinata from going any further.

After a while the forest became chilly and ominous as a creepy fog set in and covering the ground. Not only that but Naruto started hearing what sounded like faint screams. All of this frightened him further.

Finally after walking a good distance into the forest Hinata decided to let go of Naruto, causing him to hit the ground.

"Hey what that fo-" Naruto was about to yell at his friend but then stopped when ssomething in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

He looked in the direction of whatever is was and what he saw scared him. He was looking straight at what looked like someone in a white dress that was covered in blood stains who started walking towards them.

As it came closer Naruto saw that it wasn't a person but a ghost since it was slightly transparent.

"DON'T TAKE ME! I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE! PLEASE TAKE HER INSTEAD!" Naruto shouted in panic as he pushed Hinata towards the ghost.

Hinata saw the ghost for the first time and was intrigued so she started walking towards it.

"Hinata! What are you doing?! It's going to take your soul and then come after mine!" Naruto shouted worried for his own sake.

"Quit being a big baby silly. I doubt it's an actual ghost." But the ghost vanished.

"Where'd it go? It was right here and now it's gone without a single trace?!" Hinata whined.

Naruto let out a big sigh of relief when he heard it was gone. "Thank the heavens! My soul has been saved!"

"I don't like this one bit Hinata I want to turn back now, let alone even enter this forest in the first place." Naruto whined.

"Oh Naruto-kun you're such a baby. I think this is quite fun." Hinata giggled at his complaint.

"It may be fun for you but ghosts and such terrify me." Naruto confessed while adverting his gaze.

With this newfound information Hinata thought she'd play a prank on him. Thus she slowed her pace and crept up behind him and whispered in his ear as she abruptly grabbed his shoulders.

"I've come to steal your soul" She whispered.

This freaked him out and he nearly jumped out of his skin as he ran off in the distance not daring to turn to look back.

"I won't let you have it!" He shouted without looking back while running like a mad man.

Hinata was shocked to see Naruto run off like that but quickly ran after him. "Wait it was only me. It was just a prank!" She called out to him.

"LIES! You've taken hers already and imitating her voice to make me stop so you can take mine! I won't let it happen you demon!" Naruto shouted back as he closed his eyes hoping it'd all go away.

This was a bad decision as he collided with a big tree and stumbled backwards dazed from the impact.

"NARUTO-KUN! Are you alright?! You didn't get hurt did you?" Hinata asked with a concerned voice when she finally caught up.

Naruto just saw stars twirling around that mesmerized him.

He turned and saw Hinata, "Oh hey Hinata. So they got you too huh? What did I tell you about our souls being taken?" Naruto said in a dopey voice.

Hinata slapped Naruto to knock some sense into which did not fail. "Why did you run off like that? You scared me half to death."

"I heard someone whisper in my ear saying they were going to take my soul so I ran like hell." Naruto explained with a red face from embarrassment.

"That was me! It was just a prank." Hinata explained.

"Well I didn't find it funny! I actually thought a ghost or something came and took you and then went after me!" Naruto was angry but concern was also evident in his voice.

"Why? Did the thought of losing me worry you?" Hinata teased.

"Uh.. Y-Yeah it d-did a little b-bit." Naruto stammered while rubbing th back of his neck.

It was Hinata's turn to blush as she didn't expect him to have such feelings for her.

"Well I'm fine. Now let's get back to exploring!"Hinata said while she tried hiding her embarrassment.

"Can we not?" Naruto pleaded once more, not thrilled to hear her statement.

This time Naruto really didn't want to be in the forest because the darkness of the night had finally set in giving the forest an eerie feel.

"Cheer up Naruto-kun you have me remember" Hinata said cheerfully.

"I'll protect you from any harm." She said teasingly.

"How about we just leave. That way you won't have to." Naruto suggested. The thought of Hinata protecting him from something like ghosts made him feel embarrassed.

"Nope. That's not an option." Hinata smiled at his scared demeanour. He looked so childish because of it.

"Ugh. Fine. I just hope this ends quickly" Naruto said as he prayed to the heavens.

After that Naruto tried to act brave, when really he was scared beyond words could describe.

During their walk both Ninja heard a loud crack behind them which startled them. They went to see what caused it.

They both found a rather large branch that had fallen off of one the trees laying on the ground.

"Phew it was only a tree branch." Naruto wiped his brows.

"Yes, but look at the size of the branch. The wind couldn't have made this fall. Someone must've done this." Hinata pointed out while she examined the branch.

Her answer sent a shiver down Naruto's spine, and made him take a big gulp. "Uh, who would be here at this time of night?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

Hinata took this opportunity to scare Naruto some more, "I don't maybe it's a restless ghost who is able to take physical shape. And considering the sound came from behind us it would seem whoever it is, is following us." Hinata had a grin on her face.

"I-I don't like the s-sound of this."

"What's wrong Naruto-kun? What happened to my brave and courageous best friend who backed down to nothing?" she teased.

"He's about to curl up and die." Naruto said meekly as he pointed behind her.

She followed the direction he was pointing at and saw a headless man who wore knights armour stride towards them with a flaming sword in hand.

"Oh my. This is very intriguing!" Hinata exclaimed.

Just then a loud sinister laugh was heard from the figure.

"HELP!" Naruto shouted as he turned to run, but his foot was caught in mud.

 _"WHEN DID THIS GET HERE!"_ He shouted within his mind.

Naruto started to sweat bullets as the headless figure was closing the distance between them. Even Hinata started moving back.

"Help me!" He pleaded as he held his hand to Hinata who took hold of it.

Hinata did her best to pry her best friend out of the mud, but when she almost got him completely out something grabbed onto Naruto's leg from within the mud making him scream like a little girl.

"IT'S GOT ME! IT'S GOT ME! IT'S PULLING ME IN! I'M DOOMED! PLEASE HINATA TELL MY FAMILY I LOVE THEM!" Naruto shouted as he was slowly dragged into the mud.

Tears started rolling down his face as Naruto desperately tried to get out of the mud pit while Hinata just stood there in shock.

Hinata had totally forgot about the headless man in the midst and felt something pull her feet making her collapse to the ground as she was dragged away.

At this point even Hinata was genuinely terrified as she was dragged away. "NARUTO-KUN HELP ME! PLEASE SAVE ME!" She screamed as she was dragged out of sight.

Naruto just watched with terror in his eyes. Hinata was just taken from him and he couldn't do anything because he's also being taken by the ghosts and ghouls of the forest.

For a moment he just stood there as the hands dragged him into the bottomless pit until he assumed a serious expression.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Naruto shouted in rage.

"You're not going to take me alive and I'm definitely NOT going to allow to take my best friend from me!" He shouted as he transformed into Sage mode.

His appearance turned yellow save his skin which glowed brighter, and he produced a cloak that was glowing yellow and had six identical symbols that were around the collar. His eyes became horizontal black bars and six small black orbs appeared floating behind his back.

One of the orbs floated to Naruto's hand and when he grabbed hold of it, it turned into a staff. He used that and the other orbs which allowed him to levitate to pry himself from the mud pit.

Once he was out of the mud he flew off in the direction where Hinata was dragged away.

He came across an opening where he found Hinata on her knees with her hands and feet bound. There was an altar in front of her and the Headless man who dragged her off was standing beside her, along with the ghost woman he saw earlier.

"YOU LET HER GO!" Naruto demanded.

The two ninja heard yet another sinister laugh from the Headless man. "Come and get her if you wish to save her from our ritual."

"What do you plan on doing?!" Naruto inquired.

This time the ghost spoke, "We plan on extracting both your souls to help us summon an even greater evil!" She explained in an eerie tone.

Naruto didn't like the sound of their plan. And he definitely didn't want his soul to be taken, let alone his best friend's.

"Give her back to me, and I'll make your punishment less severe." Naruto offered.

The headless man chuckled at his statement.

"N-Naruto-kun! Get out of here! They're more powerful than you think!" Hinata pleaded.

"I thought I told you to stay quiet!" The knight yelled.

"Run! They'll capture you too and the ritual will have all the requirements!" Hinata begged Naruto.

The knight had enough of her outbursts and knocked her out with the bottom of his sword.

After seeing Hinata get hit Naruto was fed up. Thus he got ready to attack. A second orb floated to his hand and this time it became a spear and he threw it at the knight who dodged it with great speed.

The ghost levitated to Naruto and went for his neck but he side-stepped and swung his staff at her. When it hit her she went flying crashing through many trees breaking them all.

Naruto sensed the knight right behind him and quickly evaded the slash that hit the ground which ignited in a burst of roaring flames.

"YOU'LL DIE ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!" The headless knight shouted in rage.

"We'll see about that." Naruto smirked.

As much as the ghosts scared him he was enjoying the fight. He flew toward the knight who swung his sword at Naruto but his attack was deflected as one of the orbs moved in the way and turned into a wall.

This time Naruto held his hand out and the spear he threw earlier came back to his hand. He was about to pierce the Knights armour with when he felt something touch his leg.

He looked down to see the ghost returned and was freezing his leg. Naruto couldn't let himself freeze any further so he flew higher and then threw the spear at the ghost this time, who barely managed to dodge the attack.

The knight took this opportunity to stab his sword into the ground and then a crack appeared next to it and lava came spewing out and nearly hit Naruto.

Naruto sent one of the orbs to create a dome around Hinata to protect her from the lava and then charged at the knight who side-stepped him and grazed Naruto arm with his sword causing his skin sear from the heat.

Naruto yelled in agony. But it was the least of his worries. There was a bunch of ice shards above him ready to rain down on him and turn him into a kabob.

He barely managed to dodge the barrage of shards if it weren't for his Ninja reflexes. But he was still hit with one which imbed itself in his thigh.

He pulled the shard out and threw it aside. He had to keep him self levitated because putting pressure on his leg was not an option, the wound was deep and would cause great pain if he did.

Naruto was done playing around, so he went even further and combined his Sage mode with his Nine-Tails Chakra mode. thus his eyes also became slits in the middle of his pupils and yellow flames started to emanate off him. And his body became riddled with black lines and symbols.

This time Naruto had two extra hands form from his Nine-Tails Chakra and grab hold of the two ghosts with the black orbs acting as gloves to protect him from there attacks.

He was ready to crush them when he heard Hinata's voice from inside the dome he created to protect her.

"Naruto-kun you can release this jutsu." Hinata said.

Naruto did what he was told and returned the orb to its place behind him.

"Get out of here!" He yelled as she just stood there.

She didn't budge.

"Hinata I said get out of here. I don't want you getting hurt." Naruto pleaded.

His statement caught Hinata off guard and she started to blush a bright pink.

"Naruto-kun you can stop it now. They're not actually ghosts." Hinata explained.

"W-What do you mean they're not actually ghosts they tried killing us both!" Naruto was bewildered by her statement.

When he turned to look at his two enemies he saw them transform back into people he recognized.

The Headless knight was none other than Yamato who had a creepy grin on his face. And the other was Haku in his normal dress. (A/N: Haku looks a lot like a girl).

Naruto was dumbstruck. What was going on here. He let the two of them go and then deactivated Sage mode and his Chakra mode.

"What is going on here!" Naruto nearly shouted with a look of confusion.

"I think I can explain that." A voice was heard from behind a tree. When the man emerged Naruto saw Kakashi with his sharingan visible.

"Kakashi-Sensai?!"

"Yes well what happened is that we all knew about your fear of ghosts, save Hinata. So we made up this rumour about there being a haunted forest nearby knowing Hinata would want to see it and drag you along. So when the day came we all came here and waited for you two to show up. Once you did we set our plan in motion. I was the one who brought the fog in while Haku did all the ice related 'decorations' and Yamato found a fire style sword he could use even though he doesn't possess Fire Chakra. First we wanted to scare you, Naruto, then once we scared the wits out of you we'd freak Hinata out too and genuinely terrify her. After we captured her we told her everything and she went along with it. It was all done to prank the master prankster." Kakashi looked like he was grinning.

"Okay. I can't believe I was fooled into this whole thing, and quite upset about it, but I understand it all now. Except for Haku. How the heck are you here? You're dead aren't you." Naruto asked.

"Yes I am. I'm actually a real ghost. I've just been wondering around the land when Kakashi found me by chance and asked for my assistance." Haku explained.

"Ehhhhh?!" was all Naruto had to say before his face turned blue as his eyes rolled up making his eyes look like they were all white before promptly fainting as he collapsed to the ground from the encounter of a REAL ghost.

 **xXx**

And that spells the end of this Halloween one-shot. Hope you got a good laugh from it.

 **Edit** : I actually had taken this idea which was originally for my story and mixed it up and shortened it for the Challenge.


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